2 cycle or 2 stroke?

One Hundred Thirty Fifth Post: 2 cycle or 2 stroke?

Two cycle engines are familiar. Those are the engines that you mix oil with the gas most commonly found in weed eaters and lawn mowers. But what does the 2 cycle mean? A 2 stroke engine means the engine’s pistons have 2 turns per each turn or cycle of the crankshaft. It probably is a simple answer, but a lot of people are probably unaware of why it is called 2 cycle engine oil when 2 stroke engines usually mix oil and gas. Puzzling.

Another interesting engine is the diesel engine. Diesel engines don’t have spark plugs. So the engine can be sprayed with a stream jenny and the engine will still start. The same may be true with a gas engine (I figure) if the spark plugs were sealed instead of just covered by a rubber insulator. Diesel engines use something called “glow plugs” instead. Maybe the engine works when sprayed because it is sealed. However water in the diesel would probably stop the engine just as moisture in the gas during winter. It would be an interesting to search on the Net to actually figure out how these engines work.

Another interesting thing with the diesel engine is that when it won’t start sometimes the driver can give it gas as someone holds there hand over the exhaust pipe. This builds up pressure and somehow helps the engine to start.

Whatever the engine the driver should have some idea on how they work. If not just for knowledge, it may be useful to know for basic repair and maintenance. We must know how current engines work if we are going to build better engines.